1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a balancer having a balancer housing capable of supplying electric power to a balancing module to counterbalance an unbalanced load, a washing machine and a control method thereof to diagnose a malfunction of the balancer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A washing machine is an appliance that washes laundry using electric power. In general, a washing machine comprises a tub to store wash water, a rotary drum rotatably mounted in the tub, and a motor to rotate the rotary drum.
The washing machine performs a series of processes such as washing, rinsing and dehydration process using rotational movement of the rotary drum.
When the rotary drum rotates, if laundry is not evenly distributed in the rotary drum but accumulates at one side of the rotary drum, vibration and noise may occur due to eccentric rotation of the rotary drum, and components such as the rotary drum, the motor or the like may be damaged.
Accordingly, the washing machine is equipped with a balancer in order to stabilize rotation of the rotary drum by counterbalancing an unbalanced load generated in the rotary drum.
Recently, a balancer capable of actively moving to a position counterbalancing an unbalanced load and a structure capable of transmitting external electric power to such a movable balancer have been developed.